urbanSTL

Did anyone attend Monday's Holly Hills meeting? I am curious as to the progress on this. When will it open? Will the YMCA operate it? Prices for membership? Will the YMCA on Loughborough close?

I couldn't attend as I had "kid" duty that night and she goes down at 7:30. I would like to hear an update as well.

I did not attend but this is the last thing I heard...



The city and the YMCA are in the process of finalizing an agreement for the Y to operate the new community recreation center in Carondelet Park.



2009 Carondelet Park RecPlex Fees-Monthly (provided by Alderman Fred Wessels)



Type City Resident Non-Resident



Student $34.50 $39.00

Senior $41.40 $46.80

Adult $48.00 $52.00

Metro Adult $ 61.00 $61.00

Senior Household $62.10 $70.20

Household $69.00 $78.00

Metro Household $84.00 $84.00

^thanks for the info, those prices seem reasonable considering a household membership to the Carondelet YMCA is $61/month.

But the Y was not built using taxpayer money.

Isnt this just the same pricing that all the Ys use? Seems way too high.

Call me an old crank, but this thing was never sold to the tax payer as needing to purchase a membership, although in retrospect I guess it only makes sense. It just seems strange to me my sales tax is closing in on 10% and I'm not going to use the facility.



How was the Sublette Y built. Surely not with government support.

Yeah, I'm really surprised more objections weren't raised to this deal. Essentially building a Y in a public park with public funds just doesn't seem right.



Still, it's a great addition to the neighborhood.

alphalfa wrote:Call me an old crank, but this thing was never sold to the tax payer as needing to purchase a membership, although in retrospect I guess it only makes sense. It just seems strange to me my sales tax is closing in on 10% and I'm not going to use the facility.

I guess I'm another old crank because I agree with you. I don't like how it was sold as a taxpayer supported project ostensibly open to all citizens that will simply result in the relocation of an existing YMCA in the process, even if I understand why this is what materialized. And, like you said, I don't like not being able to take advantage of all the benefits that the center will offer to members when sales tax is closing in on 10% either.



I might be able to find another $70 lying around each month if tuition for my son's education wasn't so close to $400 per month. Oh well...I guess we'll still get to use the pool every now and then when it opens.

Don't fret. I'm sure it's just like any of these other rec plexs. You can go any time and pay $5-8 per visit. Only think you'll go 2x/week or less then just pay as you go.

Moorlander wrote:Don't fret. I'm sure it's just like any of these other rec plexs. You can go any time and pay $5-8 per visit. Only think you'll go 2x/week or less then just pay as you go.

That's why I'm not overly concerned. I just think the city should've been a bit more upfront with citizens as plans changed, as there was some confusion and disappointment once people learned that the recplex was a de facto replacement for the existing YMCA less than a half mile away.



I'll pay as I go for now, and I'm okay with that. I can probably scrounge up the $70 per month just by cutting back on lattes, so when the center opens, I'll see how much use I get out of it and reconsider my options accordingly.

I was jogging by the construction area yesterday (Sunday) with the hopes of sneaking in and having a look around. To my surprise, I found a pickup and park ranger car parked along the rode. I didn't see either person, but the fence was down and there were huge tire tracks in the ground. It looked like someone had driven a large vehicle over the fence.



I looked for something in today's Post (online), but didn't see anything. Does anyone have a clue what happened?

Some of the equipment on site had been driven into one of the walls doing about $10,000 in damage. That is probably what you saw the first time. KCI never fenced the whole site, so they have to look to themselves first for any damage.

At least the place didn't go up in flames.

My neighbor sent me these. This is looking very similar to the South City Y. I am not great at judging time lines but if I were to guess it looks like they are a bit behind and it may not open until next year.

I was told this morning by one of the guys in the last pic that they are planning to open in November, but could be longer. It will probably be a year or more behind schedule at completion.

More pics!



http://tinyurl.com/recplex-pics

I picked up a flyer at the Carondelet YMCA regarding the new recreation complex planned to open this fall. Some interesting highlights:





The rec plex will be operated by YMCA.

*Operating hours: Mon-Thu 5 am to 10 pm, Fri 5 am to 9 pm, Sat 7 am to 5 pm, Sun 8 am to 6 pm



*76,000 square foot green facility



*2 court gym with elevated track, fitness center, aerobics studio, senior and teen rooms, 3 multipurpose rooms, wet room for parties and cycling, classroom, 2 child watch areas, catering kitchen, family locker room

memberships are available for city residents and non-residents; plus the membership allows you to use the Sublette YMCA at your convenience.



*Non-residents have a one time joining fee of $20/student, $40/adult, $80/household



*Monthly facility fees for city residents are $34.50/student, $46/adult, $69/household; non-residents is a little higher.



*For members, the annual pool fee is paid once per summer in addition to the monthly fee. Facility members $50/single city resident or non-resident, $125/household city or non-resident; non-facility members can pay $205/single city resident, $225/ single non-city resident, $380 household city resident, $410 household non-city resident



*You can also get a Metro membership allowing you to access any YMCA in the greater STL area



*Indoor pool features coed steam rooms & sauna, whirlpool, preschool play structure, zero depth entry, lazy river, 2 story water slide, vortex (circular water current), lap and rec areas



*Outdoor pool features all indoor amenities plus diving board, preschool pool, splash park and concession area



*The outdoor pool will open summer of 2010



Sounds pretty swanky.

I went to work out here for the first time last night and I loved it. I don't know what acoustical magic they have worked with the exercise floor but even when there are loads of people working out, it's very quiet. There's also no ambient music and they've confined the spinning class to another room so there isn't that atmosphere of loud and chaos like South City. The track is built so that it passes above the gym and the open workout area so you can see the entire facility.

I live in Shaw and while I would love to have a Rec plex in the Central corridor, this has been a fantastic addition to city living. I used to go and pay the day rate at Maplewood and always wished we had something in the city.

The facility has incredible. My son and I play basketball, swim, etc. The indoor pool is amazing and rivals any other complex in the county even the Lifestyle Center in Creve Coeur. The outdoor pool looks fantastic. People are friendly and the day care option saves us money each month and gets us a break when we really need it. Not to mention the CHEAP kids programs that are run professionally. My son is in Gymnastics for 7 weeks for 28 dollars.

This is another reason we will stay in the city. It is a huge plus in our eyes. For 65 per month, it is affordable. I don't think we would pay much more. We go at least three to four times a week. I think the life style center in Creve Coeur is around 130-150 per month.

Sean

SPICE1414 wrote:I live in Shaw and while I would love to have a Rec plex in the Central corridor, this has been a fantastic addition to city living. I used to go and pay the day rate at Maplewood and always wished we had something in the city.

The facility has incredible. My son and I play basketball, swim, etc. The indoor pool is amazing and rivals any other complex in the county even the Lifestyle Center in Creve Coeur. The outdoor pool looks fantastic. People are friendly and the day care option saves us money each month and gets us a break when we really need it. Not to mention the CHEAP kids programs that are run professionally. My son is in Gymnastics for 7 weeks for 28 dollars.

This is another reason we will stay in the city. It is a huge plus in our eyes. For 65 per month, it is affordable. I don't think we would pay much more. We go at least three to four times a week. I think the life style center in Creve Coeur is around 130-150 per month.

Sean

Agree completely. The childcare areas are particularly nice and its nice to be able to drop my 18 month old ball of hellfire off while I work out or shoot hoops.